00:00Embattled California Congressman Eric Swalwell is no longer a congressman.
00:05Less than 24 hours after suspending his campaign for governor of California,
00:08the Democrat also resigned from Congress.
00:10He released a statement that reads in part, quote,
00:13I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members.
00:18Expelling anyone in Congress without due process within days of an allegation being made is wrong,
00:23but it's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties.
00:27Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.
00:30He didn't announce when the resignation would be effective,
00:32but promised to work with his staff in the coming days to ease the transition.
00:36Now, the move comes amid multiple investigations into the lawmaker,
00:39including possible criminal charges here in New York,
00:41stemming from accusations that he raped a young staffer at a hotel in 2019.
00:45So simply resigning from politics doesn't close this chapter for him, nor should it.
00:50But the void he left in the race for governor back in California leaves Democrats with a growing fear.
00:55Recent polling suggests the upcoming primary, where Democrats and Republicans vote together
00:59and the top two candidates advance regardless of party,
01:02could lead to a general election with no Democrats.
01:05So state Dems are scrambling.
01:07And Kamala Harris to the rescue?
01:09Someone in California is floating a trial balloon via text poll,
01:13asking voters if they would write in Kamala Harris in the primary.
01:16It's not clear who put the poll in the field, but someone out there is gauging her chances.
01:21Moments after the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz went into effect Monday,
01:25President Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran.
01:28Quote,
01:28What we have not hit are their small number of what they call fast attack ships,
01:33because we did not consider them much of a threat.
01:35Warning, if any of these ships come anywhere close to our blockade,
01:39they will be immediately eliminated.
01:42So here is how the blockade works.
01:44It's focused on choking off Iranian ports.
01:47U.S. assets are blocking any and all ships from entering Iranian ports along or near the strait.
01:52And for the ships already inside,
01:53the troops are allowing neutral ones a kind of grace period in order to exit.
01:57U.S. officials didn't offer a ton of details about how they would enforce the blockade.
02:02Remember, we're talking about one of the busiest shipping lanes on Earth here.
02:05There are a ton of vessels hanging around the area.
02:08In theory, the U.S. would have to identify ships that it thinks are entering Iranian ports
02:13and then potentially board and inspect them.
02:16So what is the endgame here?
02:18The Post's Washington reporter Caitlin Dornbos traveled to Pakistan,
02:21the site of the recent failed peace negotiations, and got some inside info.
02:24The Strait of Hormuz blockade has really amped up the pressure as far as negotiations go.
02:32Now, J.D. Vance left this weekend, Islamabad,
02:35saying that I gave my best and final offer to the Iranians.
02:41And it's really up to them to come and make the concessions to meet that demand.
02:48I spoke to a retired military general here who has insight into the Iranian mindset.
02:56The Iranians are facing massive pressure from their own population on their economy.
03:03So the blockade really targets a weak point of the Iranian regime, and that is its economy.
03:09And so now the blockade is taking off one of those points of leverage that Iran has,
03:15and that is the oil sales that allow it to continue to operate and get all of its money really
03:21for the country.
03:22And so President Trump's blockade really takes the wind out of their sails
03:27and could push them closer to coming to the negotiation table.
03:31One Pakistani official told Caitlin that Iran simply doesn't have the military means to prolong the war.
03:38And that may be why the blockade already seems to be working.
03:41We've been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people,
03:47and they want to work a deal. They would like to work a deal.
03:50Brian Hooker, whose wife Lynette disappeared in the waters off the coast of the Bahamas,
03:54has been released from jail without being charged, according to his lawyer.
03:57The Bahamian authorities arrested Brian last Wednesday and have repeatedly questioned him
04:02while searching for Lynette and any evidence that may link him to her disappearance.
04:06He walked out of jail last night, which was the deadline the police had for charging him or letting him
04:11go.
04:11Meanwhile, we're learning a little more about Brian's search for his wife in the hours between her disappearance
04:16and reporting her missing when he managed to get to a nearby marina.
04:20The security guard at the marina says that Brian appeared exhausted and desperate for water.
04:26Hooker apparently told the guard that he'd sent up two flares when he was out on the water
04:30as two boats passed him, but neither stopped to help.
04:33He says Brian didn't seem particularly suspicious.
04:36But all that aside, here's some additional context about Brian Hooker.
04:40Since that day, we've learned he has a history of violence.
04:43First, Lynette's daughter from a previous relationship claimed Brian had once choked her mom
04:48and even threatened to throw her overboard.
04:50Now, a friend of the missing woman has come forward with even more details.
04:54Text messages from 2024 revealed that Lynette claimed to have split with Brian after, quote,
04:59I quit my awesome career, sold my house, and gave away everything I owned to Cruz.
05:04Now, she said at the time she and Brian had been married 21 years,
05:08but they only lasted six weeks on the high seas together before calling it quits
05:12because, as one message read, it was real bad.
05:15I can't be out there with him.
05:18For more on these stories and everything else you could possibly want to know,
05:22check out the New York Post in print or online.
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